


Succession

by Zygarde22



Category: Armello (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Intrigue, Multi, Political Alliances, Political Marriages, Politics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-05-29 03:01:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15063569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zygarde22/pseuds/Zygarde22
Summary: After the Death of Armello's former king, Thane gains the title of King, now he must face the challenges of becoming a new monarch,  alongside the new dangers of his elevated position, is he ready for his succession?





	1. Part I: The Old King is Dead, Long Live the King.

**Author's Note:**

> So I got Armello a few days ago, and I fell in love with it, and so as with most things I had to write a fic about it, I hope I'm doing this game justice (also more people write fics about this game, I beg of you.) Anyway enjoy and tell me what I can improve if anything.

Succession, kings, the tides of war drummed in the small kingdom of Armello. It’s king, once a kind and just ruler, was now tainted and corrupted by The Rot. Rising to take this on, the many clans of Armello raced to see who would take the throne. Many battles were waged over the weeks of the Succession Crisis, blood was spilled, and many innocents were lost but, in the end, one sat upon the throne; his name was Thane, heir of the Wolf Clan.

        As Thane sat upon his new throne he thought of how he got to where he was. Him and his Wolf Clan brethren had been fighting an uphill battle for a few days to break through the siege of the Castle and defeat the king once and for all. Magna had been leading her shieldmaiden sisters in a full frontal attack while River was working with other rangers to cause as much havoc as they could on one side of the castle, their goal to divide the king's forces so that they could break through and end the siege. That was where Thane and his forces came through. They would use the leverage gained by River and Magna to break through the siege and Thane would confront the king himself.

        “Lord Thane, Lady River says our path is clear!” One of the Wolf Clan soldiers yelled as they received a message (carried by arrow no less, River is nothing if not consistent.) This was the moment, they had only one opportunity to carry the Wolf Banner over the kingdom and defeat the King, Thane would not throw away this chance.

        “On me soldiers!” Thane yelled over the noise of battle, his soldiers on his command charged over the battlements and stormed the castle, they would keep the kingsguard at bay while Thane dealt with the lion himself. Storming the throne was no easy task the king’s guards were well trained, but then Thane expected no less from those chosen to protect the king himself. Breaking through them Thane came face to face with his target. The King of Armello sat at his throne his eyes shimmered with the purple glow of The Rot.

        “So, you’ve come to die, little wolf pup.” The King said growling as he rose from his throne, “Assassins, saboteurs, usurpers all of you come for what lies on my head, and the throne I sit upon.” He said as he drew his sword from his side and let out a ferocious roar.

        “I won’t allow it!” The King roared as he charged Thane who using his sword to block the strike, pushing the king back Thane regained his footing and pivoted his sword, aiming to end this with one fell swoop of his blade.

        “Your reign is over, I’m sorry my lord, but for the betterment of Armello I must end you.” Thane said as he thrusted his blade past The Kings defenses and stabbed him squarely in the chest. Gripping the blade that impaled him, the King laughed blood drenching the blade of his killer. Pulling his blade from the King, Thane saw The Rot for a few seconds come from The King's eyes before he fell to the ground. Thane dropped his blade and fell to his knees. It was over, so much blood, so much death, so much pain and he stood there the once ruler of his nation dead and he was now the new king.

        “Lord Thane?” One of his soldiers asked as they entered the throne room, where they found Thane. Taking a deep breath Thane steadied his nerves and stood to meet his soldiers who saw him covered in blood.

        “Tell the others that the king,” Thane paused as he looked over his shoulders at the deceased king, “Is dead, and that they are to cease fighting as soon as possible.” Thane said as he walked past the soldier the sun was shining through the palace windows. He smiled, the Succession Crisis was over, and he alongside the other members of the Wolf Clan came out on top.

        It would take some time for the other clans to recognize his claim to the throne, in the meantime he had to prepare to do what must be done with the Kings body. The Rot still resonated deeply off his body and burying him might cause it to spread further. He needed help; and only one group could help him. They needed to make a parley with the Bear Clan and speak to Sana about how to go about cleansing the kings body for proper burial and if not possible how best to dispose of it.

        The Bear Clan lived deep in the forests, it was not easy to find them, while they were active participants of the Succession Crisis, after Thane was declared king, they disappeared back into the forests. So Thane, River and Magna alongside a few contingent of Wolf Clan soldiers were traversing the forests in hopes of finding them.

        “Stick Close my lord, these forests hold many dangers.” Magna said as she raised her shield before her, she’d been to the forest once before, and was loathe to go to it again, but this was for a cause and she knew she was needed, so she bared with it. The group heard a twig snap and surrounded each other weapons and shields drawn. From the shadows emerged a Bear Clan soldier.

        “State your business wolf.” The soldier said holding a spear at the group, soon more of his kin funneled from the trees. Thane was the one to step forward, as the new King he had to lead by example and show he meant no harm to the bears or their forests.

        “I’ve come to speak to Sana, it is a matter important to the Crown.” Thane said in as stern a voice as he could manage. The Bear Clan soldiers gave each other looks and then motioned for Thane and his companions to follow them deeper into the forests until they came upon the homeland of the Bear Clan and the many who called it their home. Nestled in a tent Sana sat preparing whatever it was she prepared day in and day out.  

        “Lord Thane or should I say king, I’m not too complicit on names.” Sana said not turning to face Thane as he walked inside the tent.

        “Thane is fine, I’m in need of your expertise.” Thane said as he sat down on a mat behind Sana, the bear continued to mix her herps until she turned to face the new king.

        “I take it has something to do with the old king am I correct?” Sana asked as she faced Thane finally. He nodded, and she sighed as she rose from where she was sitting, “Come with me, there is something I have to show you.” Sana lead Thane to a small grove in the middle of the forest, where a Spirit Stone floated in the middle, they were at a Stone Circle, taking the stone Sana handed it to Thane.

        “Use this to cleanse his body of The Rot, and then cremate it.” Sana said as she walked away from the Stone Circle leaving Thane to look at the Stone that he was given, and he closed his eyes, he hated being king. The Funeral for the king was open to all the animals in Armello to attend and pay their respects to the last king. The pyre that was lit for him was as large as he was, the smoke rose into the sky and he took a deep breath and returned to the castle to recuperate and prepare for his coronation.  

        “I must say you make quite the leader, Thane.” Thane heard a feminine voice say he drew his sword looking for the person in the bedchamber, emerging from a dark corner of the room a lithe fox stood, her teeth bare, “How about me and you talk, Thane.” The fox said her smile not leaving her face.

        “Scarlet.” Thane said annoyed at the intruder. He had no clue what Scarlet wanted, but he could imagine he was not going to like it.


	2. Part II: The Schemes of Fox and Wolves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's another chapter hope people like it and check out my new original story Homecoming

            Thane had meet Scarlet a few times during the Succession Crisis, the self-titled Bandit King, was a lithe and often mischievous red fox, who despite her outwardly appearance, was a cold, calculating lady who was not one to be crossed lightly. Thane learned that in their few run ins on the field of battle. She had managed to best him a few times despite Thane’s considerable skill with the blade. So, he was of course rightfully on guard at the unwarranted intruder into his new bed chambers.

            “What do you want Scarlet?” Thane said clutching his sword’s hilt, in the event that he might have to fend off his first would be assassin. The fox put her hand to her chest as if offended.

            “You wound me Thane, can’t a vixen pay her respects to her new king.” The vixen said as she walked around Thane, her tail rubbing against his neck causing him to shiver slightly, Thane despite being around such females as River and Magna was not the most well versed when it came to the fairer sex, and Scarlet was not one to make things easy on him.

            “You are not a normal vixen.” Thane said pushing Scarlet’s tale away from him, much to the vixen’s amusement she sat down on the chair in his bedchamber her tail swishing left and right, “Now I ask again, what do you want?” Thane said forcefully towards her. Scarlet let out a haughty laugh at him, much to his anger.

            “Why my dear Thane, I have a…proposition for you.” Scarlet said as she crossed her legs, she gave Thane a sultry look, “Tell me thane, have you given any idea as to who would become your queen?” Scarlet asked, the question took Thane by surprise, it also made his face heat up like a pup dealing with his first crush.

            “W-what does that have to do with anything?” Thane asked stuttering his first line, making him seem a lot more childish to the much more experienced fox. She rolled her eyes at him and rose from where she was sitting and walked behind the cautious wolf.

            “Oh it has to do with so much, my dear Thane.” Scarlet said as she wrapped her tail around his waist, this made Thane’s face go even redder and heat up probably a few degrees more.

            “I’m here Thane dear, to make you a proposition,” Scarlet started as she walked back around to look Thane in the eyes, her sultry grin not leaving her face, she placed her arms around Thanes neck bringing her face in too close for the wolf’s comfort, “Take me on as your queen and I guarantee you I can be a great, great asset to you.” Scarlet said kissing Thane and taking him by surprise; this surprise lasted only a few seconds before he pushed Scarlet off him and pointed his sword at her.

            “You have ten seconds to leave my bedchamber before I end you.” Thane said, Scarlet took this as more of a challenge and rose to her feat her and drew her cutlass a cocky grin on her face. The two circle one another waiting for the other to make the first strike. Thane was the first to move thrusting his sword at Scarlet’s neck who using her quick wits dodged out of the oncoming blades way and with a quick thrust nearly took off Thane’s ear. Pivoting his momentum Thane brought his fist into the fox’s gut causing her to crumple to the ground in pain, regaining her composure she rolled out of the way of Thane’s downward strike with his sword, and using the momentum she kicked his legs right from under him sending him careening to the ground. Using this opportunity Scarlet jumped on top of Thane. She had her cutlass to his throat and was smiling at him with that same wicket smile she always had.

            “Why do you even want to be my queen?!” Thane asked trying to figure out why the leader of the Bandit Clans would even want to be Queen let alone his queen. Scarlet grinned at this.

            “Because Thane, I have something you don’t; connections.” Scarlet said as she took the sword from Thane’s throat, “My clan is everywhere and see’s everything, ally with me and I will give you access to that, and so much more.” Scarlet said sure of her proposal, still this was not enough to sway Thane.

            “And why would the common citizen think their king marrying the king of bandits would be a good idea?” Thane asked still trying to gauge the vixen’s motives. Scarlet not getting from atop thane got closer to him, again making him more uncomfortable than ever.

            “I know they will, while you and all the other clan leaders were all fighting for control, my clan whispered and planted all around seeds of let’s say…revolution.” Scarlet said inches from Thane’s ear, “At a moment’s notice I can give the command and oops, no more king, killed by the very populace that he swore to protect, and no one would want that…now would we?” Scarlet said as she rose from her straddling position atop of Thane.

            “I’ll give you two weeks, consider my offer, King Thane.” Scarlet said as she turned to leave, but before she did she pulled Thane into another kiss, “A farewell gift, remember two weeks.” Scarlet said as she jumped from his window into the night, leaving a bewildered and confused and mysteriously aroused Thane. The next day Thane had the first meeting with his burgeoning council, it consisted of Magna, and River at the moment, but he was hoping to get the other clan leaders on his side soon but, for the time being he had to make due with these two.

            “Thane I thought our council wasn’t supposed to meet until another few weeks, what’ with sudden meeting?” River asked confused at the meeting, Magna nodded in agreement Thane took a deep breath and explained to them what had happened to him the night before. Suffice to say the two she-wolves were rather perplexed by the story that Thane had told them.

            “What would Scarlet even gain from this arrangement?” River asked trying to parse why the vixen would even give Thane that kind of ultimatum. Magna on the other hand was a lot more straightforward with her assessment of the situation.

            “I don’t care what she wants, she’s a bandit and a cur of a fox and we shouldn’t pay her any head.” Magna said having already made up her mind about Scarlet’s proposition.

            “But do you think she has the support of as many people as she says she does?” River asked trying to be the levelheaded of the two rather than jumping to conclusions like Magna. Thane thought for a moment. He’d seen how persuasive Scarlet and her allies can be to people, so there might be some merit to her threat but, Scarlet was a bandit and bandits weren’t known for their honesty.

            “I know what she can gain from this, she wants power, nothing more, nothing less.” Thane said as he got up from his seat his back was turned from the group.

            “Oh, ever the astute Thane.” Thane quickly turned to the voice alongside Magna and River, sitting in a chair in the far off corner of the meeting room was the subject of their debate herself; Scarlet. Magna rose from her seat and pulled out her sword with River pulling out a dagger as well.

            “How did you get in here?!” Magna asked ready to cut the foxes head off and add her tail to her collection, Scarlet scoffed at the larger she-wolf.

            “This castle has many entrances, and I have to say you your sec-” Scarlet barley had time to finish her sentence before Magna smashed her shield into the ground next to her.

            “Think I won’t hesitate to end you cur?” Magna said as she pointed her sword at Scarlet snarling her teeth as she did. Scarlet rolled her eyes and motioned for her cutlass.

            “I’d like to see you try, wolf bitch.” Scarlet said, this seem to have struck a nerve as Magna charged at Scarlet with the full intent of cutting the vixen’s head off.

            “Enough! Both of you!” Thane yelled as he blocked Scarlet’s attack with the blade of his sword, “Manga, stand down!” Thane said with authority in his voice, Magna narrowed her eyes and put away her sword.

            “As you wish, my lord.” Magna said begrudgingly standing down, “I’ll refrain from cutting her head off for now, but if she crosses me again, neither you nor river will stop me from ending her.” Magna said as she let the Vixen speak.

            “Well before I was so…rudely interrupted, I was saying your security needs work.” Scarlet said as she walked in-between Magna and Thane, “And if the reason I’m here is because I knew you would tell your cohorts of my plan.”  Scarlet said as she sat on the table her tail swishing back and forth.

            “I know you don’t take my threat seriously.” Scarlet said as she looked at the wolves in the room, “I’m not one for idle threats, I hope you know that when I say I plan to do something I follow through.” Scarlet said a devilish grin on her face the three could tell by her tone and the way she was acting she was telling the truth, this worried the three of them immensely.

            “Fine, why do what you’re going to do, why not just kill me and claim the throne.” Thane asked the most obvious question, why not do what he did and take the throne by force.

            “Why? The method I thought of is far easier.” Scarlet said as she got up from her position and walked to the side of Magna and swished her tail around the larger she-wolf much to her anger, “And besides why get my hands dirty when the cleaner method is much more …rewarding.” Scarlet said as she walked up the side of Thane.

            “Fine…I hate to agree on such terms but, seeing no other option I…accept you as my…um…queen.” Thane said rather embarrassed about the whole thing, Scarlet smiled at this and walked up to him and in front of the other two wolves kissed him squarely on the mouth making Thane go wide eyed in surprise. When she was done she walked away from the wide eyed thane and the much slightly bemused Scarlet and Magna.

            “Glad you saw things my way Thane I’ll meet you again in a few days.” Scarlet said as she disappeared into the shadows and left the castle, Magna and Scarlet turned to the beet red Thane.

            “Um…I guess we now have to go to the Rabbit Clans and get their support.” Thane said trying to not let his embarrassment show through his voice. The other two ignored this for the time being and agreed to go to the Rabbit Clans location.

            Amber was the leader of the Rabbit Clan, having taken the title from her father when he passed much like Thane. During the Succession Crisis Amber, her cousin Barnaby, and their distant Aunt Elyssia were vying for the throne in the name of the Rabbit Clan, now that thane was king the Rabbit Clan had shut itself inside it’s warren and had begun erecting walls to keep any and all unwanted visitors out; a sound strategy but, one that hampered Thane slightly. He needed entrance into the warren and these walls were not going to be easy to deal with, normally he would try a siege, but he wanted to be on good terms with the Rabbit Clan.

            As the Wolf Clan approached the outer walls of the Warrens they heard a voice yell.

            “Halt!” A rather tiny yet slightly masculine voice said atop the walls, “What is your business Wolves!” The group looked up and clad in his normal armor was Barnaby holding his spear, beside him were about a dozen Rabbit Clan soldiers.

            “I wish to speak to the Clan Leader!” Thane yelled to the buck atop the wall, Barnaby stroked his chin and then answered.

            “Nah, I don’t think she’s gonna want to talk to you.” Barnaby said Thane looked at River then Magna then motioned for Magna to step forward. Seeing this Barnaby panicked slightly, during the crisis he and Magna had a few run ins, and she positively terrified Barnaby out of his armor and fur.

            “Barnaby open this gate before I climb these walls and make you open them!” Magna said as she dug her shield into the ground, indicating that she would indeed scale the beat him until he opened the gates, or she did it herself. Either prospect was scary to the much smaller rabbit.

            “F-Fine, but just don’t say I did it to Amber okay.” Barnaby said as the gates to the warren began to rise and the wolf clan members went through, their next step would be to talk to Amber and see if they could get the rabbit clan to accept his claim to the throne.


	3. Part III: The Warrens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I didn't expect this to get popular at all in the last couple of days but thank you guys who read this. I'll update again soon.

            The Warrens were an interesting place; comparatively speaking when you pitted them up against the Wolf Clan’s dens. They had vast clockwork contraptions and other devices sprawled all about, no doubt Barnaby’s doing the buck was positively enamored with his weird contraptions. Still this gave the Rabbit Clan a slight edge when it came to battle, not enough to beat out raw power and skill but enough to make trouble for them down the line.

            “I dislike this place.” Magna said as she glanced all around her, the rabbits of the Warren were looking at her and the rest of the Wolf Clan delegation with suspicious eyes, and weapons raised, least they cause some form of trouble in their domain. Not that Thane blamed them, if he saw someone from one of the other clans were in the Den’s he would want his soldiers to be wary of them.

            “Ah, if it isn’t Thane.” The group heard a haughty voice say behind them, turning it was Amber and Barnaby’s aunt and another one of the major players in the Succession Crisis, Elyssia, in all her highborn glory.

            “Elyssia.” Thane said, bowing to the older rabbit who scoffed at him.

            “Last I checked, Kings do not bow to their lowers am I correct.” Elyssia said as she walked around the group inspecting them with a keen eye, much like her niece and nephew Elyssia had an eye for detail, in her case it came in the form of fortification, which made her a horrible foe to fight in battle (or so Magna attested,) she could find an opening in any armor she fought against.

            “I guess, not, wait you called me king that means-“ Thane was interrupted by Elyssia raising her hand in a quick motion, she had an air about her that even if you were her better, she still commanded respect.

            “I simply go by what is known, and what is fact boy.” Elyssia started as she stopped in front of Thane and began to scrutinize him further, even in his armor and with his sword at his side with this doe looking at him so deeply he felt vulnerable even naked in all his armor, “You are the one who bested the old king in battle, I will swear fealty, but know that not everyone will want a warrior as king.” Elyssia said as she walked away leaving the wolf delegation to continue to where Amber was.

            The head house of the warren was as ornate as one would expect from the rabbits it’s outer walls were covered in ivy and trillium other flowers, all around the large estate. It was just as large as most of the estates in the warrens. Sitting under a gazebo and drinking tea leisurely was their intended target. Amber despite her age much like Thane commanded a force and following much greater than their fathers when they were their ages, which is why Thane had such a glowing respect for the doe she was like him in some ways cunning, and most importantly : dangerous, during the Succession Crisis, Thane had ran into Amber many a time in the field of battle and had to be careful least he end up with an umbrella sword plunged in his gut and bleeding out in the middle of some forest in the countryside.

            “Thane…for what do I ow this...pleasure.” Amber said trying very little to hide her scorn for the wolf and his party.

            “We’ve come see you to ask for your support.” Thane said as he walked up to Amber, “The Rabbit Clan is the second most powerful clan in all of Armello, gaining your support would go a long way to legitimizing my claim to the throne.” Thane said making his point abundantly clear. The doe eyed the wolf with scrutinizing eyes, Thane could tell that Amber did not like him in the slightest though one would not be able to tell via her demure demeanor and manor of speaking she carried herself like any highborn lady of the land would, but she hid a serrated blade of steel behind the silk that she gave off.

            “What benefit would I get from doing so,” Amber said as she got up from her seat under the gazebo and walked up to Thane, in one quick motion she drew her sword upon him and pointed it at Thane’s neck, his entourage drew their weapons but he stopped them, “What would I get, what would my people get from you being king?” Amber said the blade dangerously close to piercing Thane’s uncovered neck, the Wolf for his part didn’t flinch and didn’t look upon the doe with any hint of fear.

            “The kingdom cannot scant afford another costly civil war like the one I just ended, join me and I’ll make sure that the Rabbit Clan continues to survive and get what it needs.” Thane said hoping this would placate Amber. The doe thought for a moment and then sheathed her weapon and walked away.

            “Very well, I’ll lend my arms and my name to your clemency but know Thane; there are many powers at be who would want not your rule in the grand scheme of things.” Amber said as she sat down and took another sip of her tea, “ There are many who would sooner fall to The Rot then let a lowly wolf pup become king.” Amber said her words sticking to Thanes mind like an arrow sticks to a freshly killed prey.

            “Thank you Amber, I’ll keep this in mind as I go forward and you have my word that I will make sure the Rabbit Clan continues to thrive under my rule as king.” Thane said as he bowed in a show of respect.

            “For your sake, I hope you do.” Amber said as the three walked away, leaving her to enjoy the midday sun in her leisure, Armello had a new king and things were soon to change whether that be for the better or worse had yet to be seen. Only time would tell and Amber much like many of her Clan were adept at waiting out the echoes of time and watching, she would see what Thane’s rule had in store.

            Outside the gates Thane was preparing to depart when Barnaby came running towards them. Magna was the first to react bringing her shield to bare stopping the smaller rabbit in his tracks.

            “W-Wait don’t hurt me please Magna!” Barnaby said shivering at the larger she-wolf and her shield, Thane rolled his eyes Magna was a scary wolf in general, but he’d never seen someone as afraid of her as Barnaby was.

            “I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but my sister is a doe of her word,” Barnaby said as he raised his face-plate, a crooked and dopey smile on his face, “I know she’ll be here for you and if it makes you feel any better I support you as king and will swear fealty to you if need be.”  Barnaby said as he saluted Thane.

            “Very well, I know your word means a lot Barnaby, I’m sure my lord will take this with great heart.” Magna said as she dislodged her shield from the ground. As the three departed Thane couldn’t help but bring up Magna and Barnaby’s tenuous relationship.

            “I must ask, what is the deal with your relationship with Barnaby anyway Magna?” Thane asked he knew the two had prior contact before the succession crisis, but never knew the full story of why Magna had such a visceral relationship with the buck.

            “He simply thinks that fancy baubles and annoying contraptions can win a ladies heart.” Magna said not elaborating on the matter any further, River looked at Thane who shrugged. AS the three traveled something foul wafted through the air, putting them on high alert. The scent was familiar and dangerous at the same time. A scent that gave off an air of foreboding.

            “I recognize that scent…Fang!” Thane said as he narrowly dodged twin axes that embedded themselves into the ground. Pulling his sword out Thane pointed at his eldest brother who dislodged the axes from the ground and howled like the mad animal he was.

            “Hello, brother I see you’ve done a lot in my absence but now, I think it’s time we catch up.” Fang said his eye glowing with the wispy glow of the Rot.


	4. Part IV: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you to those who left kudos on this story I'm so glad I got to write it again, so here is another chapter this one is a bit more heavier than normal but I think I did a good job.

           

            The air was heavy, stagnant; the tension that permeated it could be cut with the dullest of blades. Fang was Thane’s eldest brother who was exiled by the other members of the Wolf Clan for his interest in using the Rot to usurp the rest of the clan. That was nearly seven years ago, to see brute back after those seven years of exile was not one of great joy for Thane, River or Magna but rather one of trepidation.

            “What do you want Fang?” Thane asked his paws gripping his blade tightly waiting for his brother to make another move, so he could slice his head clean off and put an end to his miserable life.

            “Why I’m hurt dearest brother, can’t a wolf send his greetings to the new king?” Fang said his voice dripping with malice and venom, “Or have you forgotten me in those seven years I was gone?” Fang said as he raised his axe in the blink of an eye, he was upon Thane who had enough reflex to parry the duel axe strike.

            “Time to teach you some manners you lowly pup!” Fang said as he broke off from Thane and let out another bloodcurdling howl.

            “Not on my watch!” Magna yelled as she rushed at him her claymore drawn Fang ducked out of the way and kicked Magna in her gut causing her to double over just in time for him to pick her up and throw her at River who was about to let an arrow sail.

            “DIE!” Thane yelled at Fang as he dodged out of the way of one of Thane’s sword strikes, Thane yelled again as he kept trying to strike his brother down each strike either being dodged or parried.

            “Is that the best you have brother!” Fang yelled as he kicked Thane in the chest sending him flying off his feet, “Because I scant believe a pup like you killed the former king.” Fang said as his Rot infected eye glew bright and his weapon began to glow with the purple ethereal glow of the Rot.

            “Clearly a king like you is weak and must be purged.” Fang said as he brought his axe down, but rather than the soft crunch of steel meeting flesh he heard the clang of steel on steel.

            “I don’t take kindly to strange wolves killing in my warren.” Amber said as she kicked Fang off his feet and helped Thane up. Following behind her was her brother Barnaby his warhammer drawn and ready.

            “Ah so the little doe wants to play, very well I’ll show you what I can do.” Fang said as he activated his Rot again the glow of it getting brighter.

            “Give it up Fang it’s five against one.” Thane commanded hoping his brother would give up before he was seriously wounded or killed. Fang simply grinned a toothy grin and twirled his axes in his hands. Lunging at Amber first the doe used her parasol as a shield as the axe hit it, shoving her back a fare bit. Barnaby capitalized on this and attempted to hit Fang in his back, but the Rabbit was not quick enough and was grabbed by his leg and slammed into the ground.

            Yelling at the top of her lungs Magna brought her shield into Fangs back sending him to the ground, as he knelled, he felt a jolt hit his chest as River shot an arrow into his chest, clutching the arrow sticking out of his body Fang let out a mad laugh.

            “So, this is how it ends…tell me brother can you do it, can you commit one of the greatest sins?” Fang asked as he coughed out blood Thane closed his eyes brought his sword to his brothers’ neck.

            “Fang of the Wolf Clan, for crimes against your king I sentence thee to death.” Thane said as he wound up his hand for the decapitation of his brother, before he did Fang had one last word.       

            “Long live the king brother.” Fang said as Thane brought the sword to Fang’s neck severing his head from his body, sending the lifeless body to the grassy ground as it bleeds out.

            “I’m sorry brother.” Thane said as he looked at the lifeless head of his deceased brother clearing the blood from his blade Thane looked at his companions.

            “Thank you for coming when you did, I’m not sure me and the rest would have held up against him much longer.” Thane said to Amber as he extended a hand for her which the doe promptly took and shook.

            “Consider it step one in our working together,” Amber said as she glanced at Barnaby who was being attended to by Magna and River.

            “Brother, are you okay?” Amber asked the still unconscious buck. He stood up slightly dizzy and spoke up.

            “Y-yeah sis just need a few minutes.” Barnaby said as he stumbled away to gather his baring’s and rearrange his head in a way that was normal, well as normal as a rabbit who was literally given the nickname “Screw loose” could be.

            “Well if this is it, me and the rest of my group will be taking our leave, and again thank you for the rescue.” Thane said as he sheathed his sword, and the group began the long trek back to the castle.

            “Be careful Thane,” Amber said before he left catching his attention “There exist many who would sooner commit Regicide than concede that they lost their shot at the crown.” Amber said serous in her statement, Thane looked at the corpse of his brother and nodded he knew all to well how power corrupted even the most innocent and noble man to do deeds that only the most craven of beast would.

            The trek back to the castle was a long but uneventful one, upon arriving a few days later Thane was greeted by a face he’d only seen a few times in passing during the succession crisis. His smile hid behind it a sharpened tongue and his demeanor while that of one of open generosity was a façade of the highest order; Mercurio of the Rat Clan.

            “Ah, my greatest lord, Mercurio at your service.” Mercurio said as he bowed, Thane raised an eyebrow while he had not fought Mercurio directly he knew River and Magna did and told of his exploits on the field of battle while small he was cunning and a threat, he was also a smooth talker and would sooner talk the shirt off your back than be your friend.

            “What do you want?” Thane asked not paying the rat any diligence as he walked past him as if he weren’t even there. Mercurio frowned and followed Thane.

            “My liege I only come to offer my services and to give you advice, I’m sure a king as mighty as you would need an adviser am I correct?” Thane narrowed his eyes if there was one group he hated it was sycophants, people who would try to schmooze themselves into your good graces, but the second they smell weakness or blood will plunge a blade into your back all in the name of power and greed.

            “I have no need of an adviser such as you, now leave my castle before I make you leave.” Thane said as he left Mercurio behind much to the rat’s annoyance. Thane sighed as he resigned to the royal bedchamber it was comforting to be into a comfortable bed rather than a bedroll in a tent in the middle of the wilderness.

            “It must be tiring being king.” Thane heard a voice he recognized as Scarlet, he wasn’t sure how she got into his room, but he didn’t bother to ask it was just something she did.

            “Scarlet, to what do I owe this visit.” Thane said as he turned to the fox, she was sitting on the edge of his bed, she crawled up to him and placed a hand on his snout.

            “I heard from River what you did, I know what it’s like to have to kill a family member.” Scarlet said as she drew Thane into a hug, Thane was unsure how to react to Scarlet’s actions, he was unsure if she was lying or if she was being genuine, he couldn’t tell with her.

            “who was that?” Thane asked wanting to hear how she killed someone before. Scarlet laid next to him making his heart beat a bit faster than he wanted it to and the heat in his body rise.

            “My father, it was how I got the tittle of Bandit King,” Scarlet got closer to Thane making his heat and heart to rise again, “It’s a horrible thing to have to live through, I hated my father when I killed him, but he was still my father.” Scarlet said as she looked at Thane face to face, the two didn’t really think when the first kiss happened, nor the second nor did they think much when thane disrobed her, besides the night was young and thane needed a distraction from his life for a moment, even if it was in the body of a vixen who he had no clue what her motives were.

            A few hours later Thane was still awake while Scarlet slept next to him, he heard a knock on his door and he walked up to it to be meet face to face with River.

            “Um…am I interrupting something?” River said when she noticed the naked vixen in the bed, Thane’s face turned bright red and he shook his head.

            “No, I, we were just…” Thane stammered out not sure how to phrase the fact that River had just caught him after he had made love to Scarlet.

            “It’s okay Thane, we all need our reliefs, just Magna and I need you to convene in a council when you get a chance.” River said as she closed the door. Thane looked back at the still sleeping Scarlet and sighed, part of him knew that Magna was going to hear about this and she would never let him live this down. Getting dressed Thane made his way to the meeting room where Magna and River were waiting.

            “I hope you enjoyed your time with lady Scarlet sire.” Magna said causing Thane to sigh, to the amusement of the larger she-wolf

            “Yes, yes it’s all funny what is it that you needed me for.” Thane asked River and Magna turned to each other and handed thane a parchment.

            “There’s been a declaration of war, the Rat Clan has decided to rear it’s ugly heads and have declared war upon the entire stat.” Magna said, sighing Thane knew exactly who was the blame for this when this was over, he would string that rat bastard up by his tail.

            “Very well gather the clans on our side and began the first war council tomorrow.” Thane said his eyes narrowed the Armello-Rat Clan war had just begun and Thane would be certain it would end soon, Thane had worked to hard to secure this tenuous peace, he was not about to let Mercurio or any of the Rat Clan members snatch it away from it.


	5. Part V: The War Council

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad people like this story, I like writing it even if I think I suck at political Intrigue and what not. And thanks for the positive comments on the last chapter. Oh and as an aside go read my new Zootopia fanfic I worked real hard on it.

Thane had been privy to many war councils in his time, from the one that the members of the Wolf Clan conducted during the Succession Crisis to a few that happened before the crisis during the Clan Wars, he had seen them and had had been apart of them a few times, but it was a whole nother beast to be the main curator and overall authority on a war council, but here he was in the war room discussing events hat had only transpired a few hours ago.

            Standing before him was the assemblage of two clans the Wolf Clan and the Rabbit Clan, Amber, Elyssia, Barnaby and one other member of the Rabbit clan a buck by the name of Hargrave, were sitting around a map of Armello.

            “Lord Thane, Hargrave of the Rabbit clan at your service.” Hargrave said as he bowed, Hargrave was an interesting Buck he was an expert at siege works and had almost taken the Wolf Clan down had his cannons not frozen in the snowy tundra of the territory.

            “Likewise, though I’m surprised just the Rabbit clan is here.” Thane said as he noticed that the only members present at the war council were The Wolf Clan and Rabbit Clan, none of the Bear Clan members showed up.

            “I’m sorry to say they had to decline Thane, Sana and the rest of the clan are simply too weak to afford another costly war at this moment.” River said, causing Thane to sigh, he should have expected that.

            “Very well, let’s get this war council underway shall we.” Thane said as he took his seat at the head of the council followed by the other members taking their seats. The first to speak was River.

            “Sire, as of last night the rat clan has made incursions into these areas, here and here.”  River said as she pointed to the two points on the map where the Rat Clan’s forces had pushed their forces back, they were a fort called Greymane and Edmond a small settlement mostly controlled by the Rabbit Clan.

            “Rabbit Clan forces managed to halt them at Greymane, but from my scouts reports they are preparing for another assault if their troop movements are consistent.” River said Thane thought for a moment and considered some of the options going forward in his head.

            “Send reinforcements to the area and shore up our northern defenses.” Thane said as he looked at the map again, the Rat Clan had several holdings that worked to greatly increase their strength including Fort Hilgard, a relatively well guarded area.

            “Our next course of action should be the capture of Fort Hilgard.” Thane said as he pointed out the fort to the others, “Magna, Barnaby you will take your forces there and try to capture it, with support from some of River’s scouts.” Magna rose from her seat in protest.

            “Sire, surely you don’t want to send me with that whelp?” Magna said motioning towards Barnaby who seemed to not take much offense to being insulted by the large she-wolf.

            “He’s one of the few people good at sieges and I need Hargrave somewhere else.” Thane retorted Magna scowled at him and sat down her objection withdrawn.

            “River, you and Amber should be able to cause a big enough fuss in the Hilario river and make life miserable for the Rat Clan’s soldiers moving through that area correct?” River smiled she was one of the best at harassment tactics making life a living hell for the soldiers on most of the kings forces but for the other clans as well, River excelled in hit and run, and guerrilla fighting like no one else, combining this with Amber's penchant for underhanded tactics and using the underground catacombs to move her forces the two together could not only wreak havoc on an unprecedented scale, but keep their forces to a minim freeing up more soldiers for Thane and Hargrave to use for Thane’s master plan.

            “Hargrave, how good are you at constructing giant wall busting cannons?” Thane asked the buck smiled at this and spoke up.

            “Sire, if given enough time I can blast the face off a mountain” Hargrave said a cocky and surefire smile on his face, Thane grinned.

            “Good, get to work on the best cannon you can make,” He then turned to the elephant or rather fox in the room, while they were talking it seemed that Scarlet had decided now would be the best time to make her presence know.

            “Scarlet?” Thane asked wondering what the vixen was doing at the meeting, he didn’t particularly invite her, nor did he inform her that said meeting was happening, but she was a smart fox she’d probably figure it out in a short amount of time.

            “I feel you all could use my assistance,” Scarlet said as she walked past Thane not giving him a look, “My bandits are in nearly every city, we can run interference especially in Rat Clan areas.” Scarlet said as she pointed at the Rat Clan areas that held some of her troops.

            “Who invited her?!” Amber asked rising from her seat her sword drawn from her parasol and pointed it at Scarlet who was moving for her cutlass.

            “Amber, stand down, may we talk in private?” Thane asked, the doe looked at Scarlet and then at Thane and placed her sword back int it’s place before walking away with Thane as the others continued to plan.

            “What is that bandit bitch doing here?!” Amber asked pointing to Scarlet, Thane sighed he know that his explanation would probably not be the best thing ever.

            “It’s…complicated.” Thane said Amber narrowed her eyes at Thane.

            “Complicated, the Bandit King is at a war council, and your saying it’s complicated?” Amber said, she tried to think of what could possibly allow someone like Scarlet to walk into said meeting unimpeded, “What dirt does she have on you?” Amber asked trying to see if Thane was being blackmailed.

            “It’s not necessarily that, it’s more like we have an arrangement.” Thane said, Amber pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a groan, Thane was obfuscating and she hated this immensely.

            “Answer my damn question Thane, what does she have over you?” Amber said with a clear menace in her voice, “If you want our alliance to work, I would like it if the king I’m supposed to follow didn’t withhold information.” Amber said, letting out a defeated sigh Thane capitulated and spoke up about the deal that he and Scarlet had.

            “I agreed to let her be my queen in return she didn’t use her connections to throw the nation into another crisis.” Thane said, Amber’s eyes widened.

            “Thane, why would you agree to such an arrangement?” Amber asked Thane looked at her with dead serous eyes. This was not the first time he would have to remind someone of the peace he fought hard to secure.

            “I fought and saw my fellow clan members die to secure the throne, I could care less who is my queen so long as I can prevent more bloodshed.” Thane said as he turned away from Amber, “I have seen to much death for me to let Armello get embroiled in another civil war; to see brother and sister fighting one another, I refuse.” Thane then looked at Scarlet and while he was sure he could learn to live with her he knew the Vixen had ulterior motives, and he could live with that, so long as she helped keep the realm safe.

            “And if I have to make a deal with a devil, I’d rather it be one I can see.” Thane said leaving Amber to mull over what he said. She knew the peace they had was tenuous at best, and Thane would need all the support he could get to keep the throne and prevent another succession crisis. She swallowed her pride and her hatred for the bandit fox for now, she would have a private talk with her when given the chance.

            The meeting continued with Thane and the rest of the war council hashing out the final bits of the plan and going to their respective armies to distill the plans to their field commanders. While leaving Amber pulled Scarlet aside.

            “I know about your ploy with Thane.” Amber said in a dry tone, Scarlet smiled at this and walked around Amber not seeing much of a reason to pay her any mind.

            “I knew thane would crack, but that’s why I choose him.” Scarlet said as she finally stopped to look amber in the eyes.

            “What the hell does that mean?” Amber asked wondering what Scarlet had planned for this whole situation. Scarlet’s smile dropped and she looked at Thane who was talking the last remaining members of the war council still in the room.

            “Thane is an…honest wolf, he need someone willing to get their hands dirty by his side, make no mistake I have the best intentions for Armello,” Scarlet glanced at Amber and sighed, “I need the utmost trust from you from everyone, you don’t have to like me gods know most people don’t, but you can trust me; you have my word as the King of the Bandits.” Scarlet said as she extended her paw Amber narrowed her eyes and then sighed before she shook the vixen’s paw. Thus, the uneasy truce was brought fourth.

            “I will give my trust for now, but break said trust and I won’t hesitate to end you.” Amber said her tone saying all that needed to be known about how serous she was about said threat.

            “I would expect nothing less from you.” Scarlet said a smile on her face. She knew Amber would be a great ally to have in the coming years, and she would do well to make sure she was not only on Thane’s side but also her’s. The next coming months would be interesting in Armello, the second Clan Wars had just begun and Amber was going to be a pivotal part of said war.


	6. Part VI: The Battle for Fort Hilgard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a while to write, but I'm done with it, I hope you guys liked it I suck at writing battle scenes.

            Magna was around for the tail end of the First Clan Wars, she saw what it was like to witness such barbarism first hand when she was just a fledgling shieldmaiden, so to be one of the central commanders of the Second Clan Wars was an interesting affair to say the least. Though she could do without her co-commander. Magna glanced at the commander in question and sighed. Barnaby was competent on the field of battle she was certain of that, but he was less than ideal of a partner in arms to her.

            Still it was of no use to complain she and Barnaby had a mission to accomplish; capture Fort Hilgard and keep it safe from counterattack by Rat Clan forces. A task Magna and Barnaby were all too eager to fulfill.

            “How far are we from our objective?” Barnaby asked looking at the road ahead of them, they’d been marching for several days to get to Fort Hilgard with the only stop being at a small village to get supplies,

            “We should be a few more miles away, once we get within a few thousand yards, set up siege emplacements.” Magna said as the continued their march, their plan was as followed, Magna’s shield maidens would be the first force ahead, to deflect and make the enemy use up any arrows or other missiles that would come their way via their shield wall, then the other soldiers would follow suit, and when the wall was busted they would rush the fort and kill or capture anyone dumb enough to continue to try to defend it.

            Magna glanced at the fort upon the horizon and ordered her troops to stop, Barnaby doing the same. She motioned for one of her field captains to come forward.

“Captain Lilith, set up defensive permeators along our northern and southern flanks.” Magna ordered, the younger shieldmaiden saluted and began her duties. While Barnaby began the construction of their siege engine.

“How long do you think it will take for this thing to be ready?” Magna asked the rabbit as he overlooked the plans for weapon, he shrugged his shoulders siege engines were fickle things taking hours sometimes days to complete depending on conditions out of the builder’s paws.

“Depends, if we don’t get attacked or interrupted, the trebuchet should be ready in a day, if we do that adds time to the equation.” Barnaby said finishing the final plans and disseminating the orders to his builders. Magna sighed and went to work fortifying their camp, she knew that the fort’s defenders could see them from this distance, and they needed to make sure any attacks that might happen at night would be easy to repel.

A day of fortifying their position, giving the soldiers their schedule guard times and regiments and Magna was tired, it was hard work making sure that an army functioned and worked like a well oiled machine. Retiring to the Commanders Tent she saw Barnaby sitting down and working on the battle map trying to think of the best place to put their trebuchet, so it won’t be damaged by any enemy fire.

“How goes the progress of our siege engine?” Magna asked as she sat down, opened one of the bottles of wine that they had inside the commander’s tent and poured herself a tall mug of it. Barnaby turned to her a wide grin on his face.

“Our siege engine should be operational by midday tomorrow.” Barnaby said proudly, Manga had to admit the weird and jumpy rabbit had a way about him that made him a knack for getting these kinds of projects up and running, it was a challenge to get the Wolf Clan’s siege engines up and running, and to see someone nearly finish one in the span of an afternoon was nothing short of impressive.

“Good, that means we can begin the main attack soon,” Magna said as she took a large swig of the wine, it was rather bitter, but it at least lessened her nerves.

“I guess, I’ve never been good at these kinds of things, usually let Amber or Elyssia handle it,” Barnaby said as he finished picking out where to best put their siege engine. He handed the document to Magna who studied it back and forth, “Still it’s great being able to work with you.” Barnaby said as his whole demeanor perked up, Magna didn’t have much of a high regard for the rabbit, nor his seemingly endless crush for her, still she could live with his rapid enthusiasm.

“Indeed, tomorrow should be an interesting day.” Magna said as she retired to her bedroll for the night. The next morning at the crack of dawn she and Barnaby began the final preparations for the siege of the fort, by the time the midday sun was high in the air, Magna, and her shield maidens alongside several members of the Rabbit Clan’s foot soldiers were awaiting their orders to rush the fort and attack its defenders, Magna stood before them giving a speech.

“We are the forces of the rightful king of this land, and we come to squish a petty uprising by a fare insignificant force.” Magna stated her voice booming across the rows and columns of soldiers lined up in perfect formation to hear her speak, “We will protect the Kingdom of Armello from another Clan War and keep it and it’s many subjects safe!” Magna added as she placed her shield into the ground, fire burning in her eyes, this sent jeers and excitement not the hearts of her soldiers as they prepared for the battle ahead.

“That fort is the first step in securing peace for our kingdoms, though we did not start the Second Clan War, we will finish it, Soldiers of the Wolf and Rabbit Clan we stand together united as one force for a greater good!” Magna said causing more cheers to rain from the crowd of soldiers “Now launch the first volley and let lose our united might!” Magna yelled as the first stone flew from the trebuchet. It impacted the wall with great force, soon another and another stone hit the fort’s defenses, and with one last giant stone the walls broke.

“Onward!” Magna said as he picked up her shield from it’s embedded state, unsheathed her claymore and pointed at the fort. With a loud battle cry the soldiers began their march to the castle.

“Archers, lose!” Barnaby said as River’s barrowed scouts began lobbing arrows into the compound, this was to soften whoever might be on the other side of the fort and give the foot soldiers an easier target to deal with. Rushing out of the hole were what seemed like endless Rat Clan foot soldiers.

“Shield Maidens! Wall!” Magna ordered as her maidens stepped forward of the other soldiers and created a giant shield wall, “Shield Maidens! Advance!” Magna ordered as the shield wall began to march forward, deflecting arrows and javelins from the rat soldiers. The shield maidens were doing their part of the plan wonderfully deflecting and keeping the bulk fighting force safe from counter attack.

“Back line! Advance!” Magna ordered as the soldiers behind the shield wall began to advance with them, pikes at the ready. The Fort’s defenders seeing this retreated into the fort, giving them more ground than they would have expected, which didn’t sit right with Magna.

“This is too easy, their must be an ambush inside, All forces halt!” Magna ordered as her shield wall stopped and she thought of how best to go about things. Magna knew if she waited too long her soldiers would get tired and want to retreat back to camp and they’d have to start again tomorrow if the defenders didn’t attack them in the middle of the night.

“Why’d you stop?” Barnaby asked as he came up to the front. The fighting had been at a standstill for half an hour, and Barnaby had ordered the archers to let up their volleys so he could see what the stop was.

“This doesn’t sit right with my gut, nine times out of ten they’ve set up an ambush inside. Magna said she knew siege warfare all to well and knew that defenders would butcher them if they rushed in.

“We could make a larger shield wall like a ball I guess.” Barnaby suggested, Magna thought for a moment, a sound strategy, giving the order to her Shield Maidens, Magna ordered for them to advance. As they advanced, they crossed the threshold and could see it was clear,

“all forces inside we’re taking this fort!” Magna ordered as she drew her sword a large battle cry echoed through the crowd of soldiers as they rushed inside the hole made by the trebuchet and prepared for the biggest battle of their lives. Rushing alongside was Barnaby armed with his warhammer.

The inside of the castle was nothing short of chaos as the defenders and attackers clashed in heated battle against one another.

“Take this!” Magna said as she stabbed a Rat Clan soldier in his chest, just in time to bring her shield up and stop a mace from another who she kicked in the gut and disemboweled. Though she didn’t catch the soldier who was about to attack her left flank.

“Oh no you don’t!” Barnaby said as he brought his warhammer down on the head of the soldier, “Hey Magna, nice day for a battle eh?” Barnaby said as he picked up a small bomb, he had in his sack lit it and tossed it into a group of enemy soldiers, the ordinance blew up sending the soldiers flying.

“Indeed, let us end this soon.” Magna said as she rushed towards the leader of the fort, Barnaby following her. The two stopped in front of them their weapons at the ready.

“Surrender or die like the rest of your forces.” Magna ordered her claymore in hand and ready to be used to cleave the head off this rat if he didn’t

“You’re outnumbered and out matched.” Barnaby added a cheeky grin on his face. Seeing his soldiers dying left and right, and knowing he had no chance against someone like Barnaby let alone Magna the Unbroken, the commander threw down his arms and surrendered.

“Just please spare the rest of my soldiers.” He asked nodding Magna gave the ordered to stop and that all Rat Clan soldiers that weren’t dead were to be treated for their wounds and captured.  Fort Hilgard was now under Wolf and Rabbit Clan control, standing atop it’s battlements Magna and Barnaby draped the banner of the clans atop it’s walls, eliciting cheers from the soldiers below it was hard fought battle with many of their own lost, still the battle was won and with the first step on the road to ending this war.

The first battle of the Second Clan Wars was over, and a decisive victory for the Rabbit and Wolf Clans. That night celebrating many of the soldiers from both sides were in song, with the liberation of the fort many Rat Clan soldiers agreed to join the side of the Kingdom. Inside the commander’s tent Magna and Barnaby were enjoying some much needed rest after the long day of battle.

“You did well out there Barnaby.” Magna said as she removed her bulky armor leaving her in only her gambeson, while Magna felt at home most in her armor, it was nice to not wear it so often, Barnaby had long ditched his armor for his civilian garments.

“Thanks, I don’t normally get into battles, it was exciting.” Barnaby said, despite being an adult Barnaby had the kind of childlike wonder that only could come from someone like him, Magna almost admired it to a degree.

“Well, you have my gratitude, and this.” Magna said as she slyly kissed Barnaby on the cheeks, causing the buck to blush brighter than he’d ever done.  Magna smiled poured the two a nice drink of mead and the two cheered to a well fought victory and hopefully a quick end to the Second Clan War.


	7. Part VII: The Dealers of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah I'm back with another chapter, I had fun writing this one anyway enjoy and read my new Dragon Ball Z fanfic I worked hard on it.

            Guerrilla warfare, the very concept was interesting; how a much larger force could often be whittled down and defeated by a much smaller one with things as simple as hit-and-run tactics. This is what River specialized in, her soldiers were the best scouts in all of Armello and because of this they knew how to hide, sometimes for long hours of the day and night, and then when the moment was right, ambush and kill their targets without leaving a trace of their existence sans the arrows and dead bodies that followed. That’s what River and Amber have been doing for the last few weeks, harassing Rat Clan Troops, thinning their numbers and then disappearing into the forest before any retaliation could befall them, it was a easy system of a attack.

            Their next hit-and-run attack was approaching soon, her soldiers had managed to capture off the body of a Rat Clan officer that a shipment of gold was being moved through the area they were occupying, a shipment that the Rat Clan needed to keep the war effort funded; so of course, it was the job of River and Amber to liberate said shipment from the Rat Clan. Hiding  deep in cover and splayed across various bushes and in the trees River’s soldiers waited with baited breaths and bows drawn waiting for the caravan with the gold to arrive. The sound of trotting hooves could be heard, the caravan was rounding the road. At its front were two soldiers in armor, riding horse, at the back guarding the rear were more armored soldiers, walking side by side with the caravan were a few less armored men.

            Smiling, River let out the bird call that signaled the beginning of the attack, before they could react an arrow punctured the neck of the horse of one of the knights sending him tumbling off his stead, soon another hit the other. Followed by a hail of arrows hitting the soldiers on the side of the caravan. Grappling hooks soon sprang from the trees and repelling down was River and a few of her soldiers who soon killed the remaining defenders.

            “Good work soldiers, now let’s see what’s in this caravan.” River said as she opened the caravan door, inside were five chests stacked on top of one another, and several giant bags no doubt each filled with a hefty sums of gold and precious gems. Now the question became, how would they get this gold to the kingdom, the horses the caravan used were all dead, and it would take days to get horses here and they couldn’t carry them by hand that would just leave them open to attack.

            “Hmm, we’re at an impasse we have our objective, but now we have no way of getting it to our forces.” River said as she and Amber sat down to plan the next phase of the operation, they had sent a message to Thane that they were capturing this gold, but gods knows when that would reach him, and if it reached him at all. Then an idea struck Amber, why it wasn’t obvious was beyond her, but she relayed the idea quickly.

            “The old catacombs!” Amber spoke up hurriedly giving River a slight fright at the outburst, “The catacombs connect all over Armello and there are ones that lead directly to the castle, if we move the caravan through there, we can get a direct line to the kingdom.” Amber said, River thought for a moment Amber was known for her exploration of those old tombs and catacombs and had most of them mapped out better than anyone probably so if someone knew how to navigate those mazes of tunnels, it was her.

            “Hmm, good idea, gather some men and lead them through, we’ll keep up the guerrilla war topside and keep them from finding you.” River said as she and amber parted and the two began their mission. Amber gathered a contingent of sixty soldiers to follow her and push the caravan through the maze of tunnels. They were rather large and often made good ways of moving troops unmolested through hostile territory, such as moving a caravan in full to the brim with gold and gems through Rat Clan Territory.

            “Stick close, these tunnels are easy to get lost in.” Amber said as she held up a torch and lead the group through the catacombs. Amber had in her time as a treasure hunter and explorer mapped out sizable chunk of the catacombs that existed under Armello, they were her life’s major work, and she would love to one day publish a full map of the catacombs when she had fully mapped them out. Still the Catacombs despite her familiarity with them were not to be trifled with, they were ancient tunnels built by Armello’s forbears for reasons unknown and they held dangers that most animals would sooner balk at then face on their own, pitfalls, spike traps, doors to nowhere, dart shooters all of them could leave someone a very deep shade of dead.

            “Careful around here, this are is full to the brim with pressure plates, press one and, well ancient poison doesn’t dull as much as you think.” Amber said as she illuminated the path ahead of them, each step in this area had to be deliberate measured, least they activate something and set off any of the litany of traps. They were doing fine all things considered a few close calls with a pit fall trap, but no casualties on their side; then she heard the metal creek of a pressure plate, and her mind went into danger mode.

            “GET DOWN!” She ordered as a shower of darts flew over them, she ducked in time with most of the troops in her command doing so, but one soldier was a bit too slow and was riddled with the poisonous darts all over his body. His body fell to the ground limp and lifeless. Amber and the rest rose up off of the ground and mourned their comrade but knew if they didn’t want to end up like him, they’d have to move through the series of death traps quickly and carefully. They were moving as fast as they could muster which was fast considering they had to push a giant caravan full of gold and gems through without it setting off any traps, they were nearing the end when they could see a mist seeping through, a purple mist and then it donned on them: Rot!

            “Rot, cover your mouths.” Amber said as she ripped off a piece of cloth from her outfit and wrapped it around her mouth to prevent the ruinous substance from getting into her body her soldiers doing the same, they weren’t anywhere near one of the rot pools by her map so what was causing it.

            “Vermin, all of you.” A raspy and wheezy voice spoke through the mist, Amber was able to make it out, Sargon of the Rat Clan his body was covered in the pustules of rot his blind eyes glowing with the ethereal glow of its corruption over his body, “Do you think you can escape the death that awaits you all?” Sargon cackled as he slowly walked his way towards the group, Sargon was a horrid character to Amber he was a teller of fortunes and death and apparently, he had fallen to the machinations of the Rot.

            “You’re corrupted!” Amber said in her muffled voice, her sword drawn in the off chance that the rat would attack them, which was am almost certainty considering he was stopping their ability to continue with their operation.

            “No, child I am whole I have seen the true extent of the gods vision,” Sargon said as he summoned a Bane from the ground, “My eyes are unclouded by the nihilistic views of the wills of earthly visions.” Sargon spoke in his corrupted state, the creatures slithered and snaked t’s way around its master and landed in the area for its master to pet it.

            “Now…I shall open your eyes to the truth of the gods!” Sargon said as he pointed his staff at the group, sending the Bane, at them. Amber readied her sword and sliced the creature in half sending it to the ground it’s rot based body dissipating.

            “Enough Sargon! Out of my way before I end you!” Amber yelled as she pointed her sword of at the blind rat. He seemed to disregard her threat as an idle one as he continued to walk forward each step a trail of rot following behind him, it was almost disgusting in a way to see someone fully allow themselves to be corrupted like Sargon was.

            “You’re threats do not scare me child, I will end this as the gods intended.” He said as he rushed at Amber, Amber blocked the attack and pushed the feeble rat back, for a rat of advanced age Sargon was surprisingly spry, pivoting her sword Amber ducked under his next attack and brought it upwards stabbing directly into his abdomen.

            “Enough! I warned you Sargon, now die.” Amber said as she pushed the sword deeper into the rats corrupted body, she could hear the rat convulse as he coughed up blood from the wound.

            “Know this child I am free,” Sargon said as amber dislodged her sword from his wound, “I go to the gods content.” Sargon said as he laid down and bleed out. Amber ordered one of the soldiers to douse his body in alcohol and set it alight so that the rot would not spread any further.

            “Damned crazy bastard, come on let’s continue the kingdom is not that far from where we are.” Amber said as she cleaned of her sword of the blood from Sargons body. The rest of the trip the Kingdom was uneventful, and they didn’t lose any more soldiers along the way. Upon emerging she got into contact with the first Wolf Clan soldier she could find, and they soon began helping her move the caravan through friendly territory. Part of her was a bit sad she had to kill Sargon, but she knew that his continued existence would let the rot spread, and she would not let that happen, not on her watch. Still a successful operation, without this shipment of gold the Rat Clan would soon find itself unable to fund this war and it’s end would come soon enough, hopefully.


	8. Part VIII: An End to the War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is the end of the war arc of the story, I hope you guys enjoyed it, after this will be a few chapters about the trial of Mercuiro and some other things then a time skip, so look forward to that.

            Thane hated hot weather, it was muggy and made his fur stick to his armor when he had to deal with the annoyance of sweat. He hated everything about heat, so it came as no surprise he would hate Rat Clan territory with it’s near constant warmness compared to the cold and snowy climate of the Wolf Clan’s dens and castles. Still he had a job to do and he was going to do it correctly, the past few weeks of fighting between the Kingdom and the Rat Clan had been going well for his forces, Fort Hilgard was captured with minim loss of life on both sides, and with the capture of a caravan containing the gold to fund the Rat Clans war effort, Thane was looking forward to the final decisive battle to put an end to the Second Clan Wars.

            To that end, his forces had been congregating outside the Rat Clan’s stronghold, with Hargrave harassing them with constant cannon fire; day and night they were bombarded by cannonballs, not enough to cause much damage to life, but it was destroying many of their buildings. They would either crack and surrender without a fight, or the armies of the Rabbit Clan and the Wolf Clan would tear down the Rat Clans walls themselves and capture the place themselves either way Thane wanted this war ended now. Speaking of ending this war his soon to be queen walked up to him while he was looking over the battle map for the potential siege of the Rat Clan’s fortress. The lithe fox settled in a chair opposite of him and he barely payed her a heed, aside from acknowledging her presence

            “So, what have your spies reported?” Thane asked as he continued to think of strategies to attack toe forth and hopefully not lose as many soldiers as he was expecting. Scarlet seemed to not mind his distant attitude, she herself knew how engrossing and all consuming the planning’s for wars were, she was a major player  in the Succession Crisis, and knew of the engrossing time it took to plan and properly execute a plan like he was.

            “They’re moving lots of equipment and soldiers to their southern wall, seems that’s where it’s weakest, if you want I can send my troops to give them hell?” Scarlet asked, Thane thought for a moment and nodded, it would make a nice diversion away from their main forces when they main assault began proper.

            “Do it, but don’t do it until the final assault begins, we need you to help divide their forces.” Thane said as he finished drawing up the plans in his head, this plan was either going to work or it didn’t.

            “Very well,” Scarlet said as she got up from her chair and walked up to Thane and wrapped her busy tail around his neck, “By the way Thane.” Scarlet said as she drew thane into a kiss much to the wolf’s surprise. He was still not to being affectionate with her despite their rather intimate moment a month back.

            “Relax, you’ll win this, I have faith in your abilities as a leader,” Scarlet said as she unwrapped her tail from around his neck and walked off, but before she left the tent she turned to him ,”If I didn’t I would be here now would I?” Scarlet finished as she left the tent leaving a flustered and embarrassed Thane to mull over what she just said, he knew she was right Scarlet was a great judge of character and wouldn’t throw her hat into the side that was going to lose. Letting out a sigh of defeat Thane copied his plans and began giving them to his captains and then went to the war council to prepare for the final assault. All his generals were present, Magna, Barnaby, River, Amber, Hargrave, and Scarlet all where present for this council.

            “Alright, here is our situation as it stands.” Thane said as he pulled out a map of the Rat Clans stronghold, “To the north of us is their main wall it’s their most heavily defended wall and the one we’ve been assaulting and shelling for the past few days now.” Thane said as he circled the wall with a quill.

            “Yes, my cannons have been chipping away at their wall for the past few days, but as of today I just finished our secret project,” Hargrave said as a devious smile appeared on his face, “The cannon that will break their wall is complete and will bring that wall down with one shot.” Hargrave said proud of the fact that he just created a cannon to break any wall.

            “Than what are we waiting for let’s break this damn wall and rush the cowards!” Magna said wanting to get this siege over with and go back to her job of leading the Wolf Clan’s Shield Maidens.

            “Not that simple, the Rat Clan’s forces are large, and while our armies combined can take care of them, we can’t rush this, not yet anyway, that’s were Scarlet comes in.” Thane said as he pointed to the fox.

            “My spies managed to find that they’ve been concentrating more soldiers on their southern wall, it’s probably the weakest area of their fortress, if my forces create an attack from inside through there then they’ll be forced to divide attention to deal with it giving the main force more leeway to take out the fortress.” Scarlet said, the rest of the group thought for a moment, it was a solid strategy, Scarlet’s forces were best used as irregular troops and not like the frontline soldiers that the rest of them were using.

            “Very well, when do we attack?” River asked waiting to give her soldiers the final orders to prepare for the siege and the inevitable battle inside the fortress.

            “We attack at dawn, should be the best time for us.” Thane said as his generals nodded, “If there are no questions then everyone is dismissed.” Thane said as the group dispersed, aside from Scarlet who was still sitting in her chair.

            “You make a good leader, you know.” Scarlet said as she walked up behind Thane and hugged him tightly, still causing Thane to get flustered, and being slightly happy that she couldn’t see his face at that moment,

            “Thanks.” Thane said thankfully he didn’t stutter it out this time like he usually would the other times Scarlet would use her body to mess with him, unwrapping herself from Thane Scarlet used her tail to wrap around him before leaving.

            “Join me in your tent in a few minutes.” Scarlet said leaving the wolf behind and trying to think of how best to respond to that, he really hated how much she did that. Looking around to make sure no one besides his guards were at his tent he walked inside to see Scarlet already sitting on his bed and beckoning for him to take a seat next to her.

            “You know Thane, it helps for a general to relax before a big battle.” Scarlet said laying Thane down and straddling his waist, the look she had indicated clearly what she wanted to do with him,

            “I know, it’s just kind of hard to prepare yourself for a giant siege you know.” Thane said remembering the headache planning the siege of the royal palace was and how he hated plaining for that.

            “And that’s why you have to relax.” Scarlet said as she kissed Thane the night was a long one and the two despite their encounter did manage to get some semblance of sleep, at the break of dawn Thane was gathered before his soldiers his generals doing the same, thousands of Wolf Clan, Rabbit Clan and Bandit Clan soldiers were awaiting the grand commander of the army to give a speech to give them some semblance of hope for the battle before them, for once Thane felt the weight of his crown on his shoulder, he glanced to his side at his generals and nodded.

            “Soldiers of the Kingdom of Armello!” thane shouted over the ruckus of his gathered infantry, “The past few months we’ve strived for this very day, beyond those walls the Rat Clan lies, and the end of this war.” Thane said pointing to the Rat Clan’s fortress.

            “For months, we’ve seen both Rat, Wolf, Rabbit, and every other force fall and die for this cause, today we will not let those deaths be in vain, when we storm these walls, we will bring an end to this war and bring Armello to peace yet again!” This riled the gathered soldiers who began cheering in unison the words King Thane over and over again, it was an interesting thing to hear, he was King of Armello and he was going to show why he gained that tittle above all who sought it,

            “We ride, Hargrave fire the first volley!” Thane ordered, and with a nod Hargrave lit their secret weapon and with a thunderous clap the cannon launched it’s projectile and the cannonball impacted the wall with a mightily crash bringing it tumbling down like a deck of cards in the wind.

            “Onward soldiers of Armello, to victory!” Thane yelled as he drew his sword and charged, a roar of agreement soon followed him as his soldiers soon charged in after him, this was it the final battle of the Second Clan Wars and nothing would stop him from winning it. As his forces rushed into the giant exposed section of the wall the Rat Clan could do nothing to stop the influx of soldiers as they marched headlong into their fortress.

            Thane had one mission to accomplish while here, find Mercurio and either capture him, or kill him it didn’t matter to Thane he just wanted the rat out of the picture, to help him do this River and Magna were joining him in searching through the fortress for him, hopefully he won’t have run off like a coward. Bursting through a sealed off door, Thane sliced through one of the guards inside looking for Mercurio. He was sitting in his chair, no worse for ware, despite the fact that his soldiers were dying outside this room.

            “Hmm, I would have figured you’d have fled by now.” Thane said as he walked up to Mercurio who didn’t seem phased by the three armed guests in his office.

            “No, no, no my friend, I do not flee, in fact I was waiting for you to arrive Thane.” Mercurio said as he walked over to a glass bottle containing brandy, he poured himself a glass before offering the three one which they declined, “Thane you’ve known me for many years, am I correct?” Mercurio asked calmly pleasant despite everything.

            “Yes.” Thane answered, not sure what the rat was getting at with this, “What does this have to do with anything?” Thane asked annoyed at the rats need for these charades.

            “Ah, ah, ah, patience young one, that is something I notice the youth lack a lot patience,” Mercurio said as he took a tentative sip of his brandy savoring the bitter taste of the hard liquor in his mouth, “I built this Clan from the ground up, toiled endlessly to see it grow.” Mercurio said as he looked out to his forces losing the battle against the combined armies of the Rabbit Clan, Bandit Clan and Wolf Clan.

            “I’ve worked thirty tireless years for my people and for the people of Armello, tell me Thane do you know what it’s like to do something like this?” Mercurio asked Thane who nodded, Mercurio smiled as he looked at Thane a young king in his prime yet so inexperienced in the ways the world works, it was almost comical.

            “Know this Thane, I give my clan to you, simply protect her like all the other kingdoms, if you promise me that, I will end this war here and now.” Mercurio said, Thane nodded and Mercurio finished his drink. It would be the last one he had for a while, he enjoyed the taste of brandy much better than wine in his opinion.

            It took a few hours for the fighting to cease, and when it did Thane saw what had become of the Rat Clan’s fortress many of his own soldiers and the Rat Clan ones lay on the ground dead or dying, it was carnage he was used to, but he still hated seeing it. Still his generals were all accounted for and save for the casualties the day was won. In the time between Mercurio’s trial and everything else The Rat clan needed a leader, so Mercurio’s brother Alvese would take up the title of Clan Leader for the time being. All in all, it had been a tiring day, and would be a tiring next few weeks.

            So here Thane was in his personal tent tired out of his mind and surprised at how quickly these things can overwhelm someone, next to him was Scarlet who was asleep, after another romp that the two had shared. He could hear outside his tent the merriment of his soldiers as they celebrated a well fought victory, Rat, Rabbit, Wolf, Bandit? Didn’t matter all were welcome to celebrate as the wars end and an end to the bloodshed. Getting out of the bed Thane put on some cloths and walked outside to see River sitting on an overturned log a tankard in her hand.

            “Enjoying the festivities?” Thane asked as he sat next to her she offered him a spare tankard which he took, taking a drink of the strong ale that was provided by the Rat Clan, part of the reparations for the war.

            It’s weird isn’t it?” River asked as she looked at the soldiers singing dancing and having fun, if it weren’t for the events earlier that day, you’d be hard pressed to know a war had just ended, “They act like comrades despite having fought one another not too long ago.” River said as she took a swig of her ale.

            “It’s something I want to foster as king.” Thane said looking on to the future of the Kingdom of Armello. He could see former enemies being happy together, hell he could see the budding love between Magna and Barnaby as a sign of how the future was changing for the better, it brought a hope to his mind and to his heart, maybe just maybe he could work as King of Armello.

            “I can’t wait to help you do it, to the kingdom.” River said as the two clinked their tankards tighter, it was a long fought endeavor, but Armello was finally in once piece again, still Thane had a long road ahead of him.


	9. Part IX: Exile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took longer than it should have to be updated, but oh well I hope you guys enjoy this is the penultimate chapter before the first arc is finished and we go to a time skip.

            “I’m just saying brother; shouldn’t you be more concerned with this situation?” Mercurio’s brother Alvese said as he paced back and forth the only thing separating the two being the prison cell that was holding his brother. Mercurio sighed at his brothers’ antics insistence at him worrying about his inevitable proceeding at the court of lords, Mercurio for his part was resigned to the fact that he would most likely get sentenced as a traitor and at best be exiled from Armello or at worst executed.

            “Alvese, calm yourself no rat ever grew fat and wealthy by worrying about what is finished.” Mercurio said quoting an old time Rat Clan proverb that rang true in the situation Mercurio found himself in, “I know where my destiny lies brother, be glad that King Thane did not destroy our entire clan.” Mercurio said seeing the bright side of this whole war ordeal and his imprisonment, his clan the one he helped build, the clan that he helped make sure was a powerful player in the politics of Armello and not one of the many smaller clans of the nation serving under larger ones.

            “I just…you’re my brother Mercurio, I can’t not be worried about you.” Alvese said holding onto the bars of his Mercurio’s cell with worry. Mercurio smiled and walked up to his brother placing a reassuring head on the younger sibling’s head.

            “I know but know that whatever happens it is my own doing, and that I choose this path, now you must forge a new one for our clan.” Mercurio said, Alvese had a wry look on his face, but he accepted his brothers’ words and left the older rat to contemplate his life and what will happen next, he wished he had some brandy to mull this over but oh well that would come another time. It had been a little over a month since the conclusion of the Second Clan War, the Rat Clan had suffered some great loss from what Mercurio heard from his brother, mostly due to reparations paid to the winning parties involved. Still his clan was not dead or disbanded so that much was good, the Rat Clan was resourceful and would bounce back and Mercurio had faith in his brother.

            “Mercurio?” A voice said to the rat from the other side of his bars, it was a guard his helmet obscuring any features that might let Mercurio make out what species he was, “By order of King Thane, you are to be brought before the Imperial Court  and judged.” The guard said as he opened the door, placed shackles upon Mercurio’s hands and marched him to the Imperial Court to be judged. So, this was it: judgment day and he was to face the music as was often said. He wondered what sentence would be bestowed upon him for this. He’d been to the Imperial Court before it was were all the leaders of the clans would reside and judge a criminal charged with the highest crime, he imagined that Alvese as his brother recused himself from the proceedings.

            His judgment was correct as there was one seat empty from the court room and that was the one reserved for the rat clan. He could see the other clans clear as day, Amber sat in the far right, Sana in the far left, near the center was River who must be the new clan leader of the Wolf Clan and of course in the center on his throne was King Thane.

            “Mercurio of the Rat Clan, you stand accused of attacking your reigning monarch and starting a war.” Thane said his voice as calm as he could make it, that was good a king must not show fear even when sentencing a person, especially one they’ve known for many years.

            “How do you plead your case?” Thane asked waiting for Mercurio’s response. Mercurio took a deep breath and spoke up.

            “Your Lordship, to speak plainly…I have no defense of my actions.” Mercurio said with honesty, “I simply did what I felt was right at the time, know this I seek no forgiveness for my own judgment only forgiveness of my countrymen who followed me in ignorance.” Mercurio said bowing to Thane. Talk soon erupted amongst the gathered clan leaders as they tried to reach a consensus as to what to do with Mercurio. After much deliberation Thane spoke up.

            “Mercurio, in light of your crimes and your service to Armello all these years, the Imperial Court has ruled that you shall be exiled for a sentence of thirty years.” Thane spoke, in a clam and collected tone. Mercurio smiled his clan was safe, and while he was an old rat and probably would not live to see himself set foot back into his home nation again, he could live with exile.

            “Thank you sire, I apologize that you had to do this.” Mercurio said as he bowed and was escorted out of the court. As Mercurio left Thane let out a sigh of tension. He was not used to this kind of things, while he’d worked on the Imperial Court as a stand in for his father, being the one who has to actually sentence someone was another matter entirely and it was draining, he wonders how the old king dealt with this several times a day. Still there were more criminals to sentence and by the end of the day Thane was drained emotionally as he nearly collapsed in his bed.

            “Gods above how did the old king deal with that.” Thane said to himself as he looked up at the ceiling of his room.

            “Practice.” Thane heard the familiar voice of Scarlet say, she had a way of timing those things, so she always entered here when Thane was at his most vulnerable, something he guessed was 100% intentional on her part. The vixen sat down next to him a smile on her face.

            “Well I wish I didn’t have to practice so much today.” Thane said as he sat up to meet Scarlet his form towering over her, still she had a presence that made her just as intimidating as any full-grown wolf, “Thirteen cases, five cases of high treason, two cases of grand murder of a government official, and six cases of fraud against the court, I hated all of it.” Thane said as he placed his paw on his face the stress of his job almost pulsing from his body.

            “They never said being king was easy, now did they.” Scarlet said as she placed a hand on Thane’s face, Thane was still not sure how he felt about the vixen, she had been shown to be a master manipulator, still he was slowly getting to understand what she wanted out of him, and what he wanted out of her, plus it helped to have someone other than your family to understand you.

            “I guess, I guess nobody truly prepares to be king, they only mitigate the toil and annoyances of the title.” Thane said as he laid back down on his bed, Scarlet joining him at his side.

            “Well I can always tell you some better news to make your life easier.” Scarlet said as she took thane’s left paw and brought it to her belly, it took Thane only a second to realize what she was implying.

            “W-wait are you really?” Thane asked unsure how to feel about the fact that he wasn’t even officially married to Scarlet yet and already she was pregnant.

            “I had it conformed by the court physician a few days ago,” Scarlet said as she moved closer to Thane, “Your first heir.” Scarlet said, Thane grimaced at the way she talked about their child.

            “Not our first heir, our first child.” Thane said correcting her, Scarlet smiled at this slightly, “Still I guess it’s only paramount that we accelerate the wedding preparations.” Thane said not wanting it to get out that he and Scarlet had their first child out of wedlock.

            “I guess so.” Scarlet said snuggling close to Thane, that was one thing he’d gotten used to, and much to the vixen’s slight annoyance her touches didn’t carry the same embarrassment as they used to for him.

            “I’m honestly worried about the future, not just about our nation, but about being a father a husband.” Thane said letting his guard down around Scarlet for a moment, “I honestly wish I let Amber or someone else take the throne someone with more experience than me, it seems like I’m a little pup in a den of giant wolves.” Thane said, Scarlet hugged him tighter.

            “You’ll do fine Thane.” Scarlet said kissing his forehead, Thane was not sure if he fully believed her, but he would if it meant some calm in his life, even for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anyone has any suggestions for a good name for Scarlet and Thane's kid give me it in the comments.


End file.
